Definitions of natural, hatchery and unknown origin Chinook:
The following caveats/assumptions must be taken into consideration when interpreting the recreational fishery data presented below:
Please keep in mind sample rates for these areas are below ideal levels, so conclusions drawn should be very careful. Please read the last section that lays out the sample rates (i.e., % of kept catch sampled) by month and year!“
Proportion of legal sized biosamples that return as Nitinat in each Area applied to kept, legal catch estimates for 2017-2023 (note 2023 biodata still incomplete).
Applying stock comp %s from creel biosamples to estimated catch by Month/Area/Year. Note 2023 and 2024 are incomplete as of January 2025.
Figure 1.1: Kept catch estimates of legal size (>45cm and <=80cm) Nitinat-origin Chinook across WCVI PFMAs, organized from north (PFMA 127) to south (PFMA 20). Estimates calculated by applying the proportion of Nitinat chinook detected in creel biosamples to total year-month-area catch estimates. Interactive plot; hover over data points on heat map to see sample sizes and catch estimates. NOTE 2023 and 2024 samples are incomplete as of January 2025.
Figure 1.2: Kept catch estimates of legal sized (>45cm and <=80cm) Nitinat Hatchery Chinook across WCVI in 2023. Estimates calculated by applying the proportion of Nitinat chinook detected in creel biosamples to total year-month-area catch estimates. NOTE 2023 and 2024 samples are incomplete as of January 2025.
Figure 1.3: Kept catch estimates of legal sized (>45cm and <=80cm) Nitinat Hatchery Chinook across WCVI in 2022. Estimates calculated by applying the proportion of Nitinat chinook detected in creel biosamples to total year-month-area catch estimates.
Figure 1.4: Kept catch estimates of legal sized (>45cm and <=80cm) Nitinat Hatchery Chinook across WCVI in 2021. Estimates calculated by applying the proportion of Nitinat chinook detected in creel biosamples to total year-month-area catch estimates.
Figure 1.5: Kept catch estimates of legal sized (>45cm and <=80cm) Nitinat Hatchery Chinook across WCVI in 2020. Estimates calculated by applying the proportion of Nitinat chinook detected in creel biosamples to total year-month-area catch estimates.
Figure 1.6: Estimated kept, legal (<45cm, >80cm) Chinook catch in Area 21. ID is to the Region-level in all cases except for Nitinat River. Estimates calculated by applying the proportion of Nitinat chinook detected in creel biosamples to total year-month-area catch estimates. NOTE 2023 and 2024 samples in incomplete as of January 2025.
Figure 1.7: Estimated kept, legal (<45cm, >80cm) Chinook catch in Area 121. ID is to the Region-level in all cases except for Nitinat River. Estimates calculated by applying the proportion of Nitinat chinook detected in creel biosamples to total year-month-area catch estimates. NOTE 2023 and 2024 samples in incomplete as of January 2025.
Sample rate is simply the number of samples collected divided by the estimated kept catch, calculated for each month/area/year. It can give an indication of sampling effort to interpret catch trends.
Figure 1.8: Sample rate or “sampling effort” of kept legal Chinook catch in all WCVI areas from 2017-2024. Sampling rate or effort is defined as the number of legal-sized biological samples collected in each area-month-year divded by the total kept legal catch estimate for that area-month-year. Catch estimates are point estimates; this does not take into account uncertainty around catch estimates.